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The Latino Newsletter podcast is made possible with support from the Latino Community Foundation. All episodes were produced and edited by Julio Ricardo Varela and Joaquin Cotler. Sound design and mixing by Joaquin Cotler. Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.
December 12, 2024: The Space We Build
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes journalist and cultural producer Alisha Miranda to discuss how her "Latinx Industry Night" series is redefining storytelling and amplifying Latino voices in Philadelphia’s hospitality scene. They talk about how these events challenge stereotypes, spotlight rising stars, and create intentional spaces for representation and community.
December 5, 2024: The Status Never Ends
Puerto Rico's 7th (yes, 7th) non-binding status plebiscite happened on Election Day, with statehood getting 57% of the symbolic vote and independence getting 31%. What does it all mean, or what doesn't it mean?
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus, the George Welwood Murray Professor of Legal History at Columbia Law School, to dissect and discuss.
November 28, 2024: Univision and Latino Politics
In the third of a series of conversations about the Latino vote and the 2024 election cycle, host Julio Ricardo Varela talks with Jesus Lara, President of Local Media at TelevisaUnivision, about what the network did this past election cycle and what it means for the future of the U.S. Latino community.
November 21, 2024: Trump’s Latino Plan
In the second of a series of conversations about the Latino vote and the 2024 election cycle, host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Jorge Bonilla, veteran Latino conservative writer and radio personality, to talk about what American political media missed about President-elect Donald Trump’s support with Latinos and what it may mean.
Photo: Donald Trump in Glendale, Arizona (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)
November 14, 2024: The Untold Latino Vote
In the first of a series of conversations about the Latino vote and the 2024 election cycle, host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Geraldo Cadava, a contributing writer at The New Yorker, co-editor-in-chief of Public Books, and host of the “Writing Latinos” podcast. Cadava is also a professor of history and Latina and Latino studies at Northwestern University.
Photo: President Joe Biden greets President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, November 13, 2024, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Oliver Contreras/Public Domain)
November 7, 2024: The Election Show
Here at The Latino Newsletter podcast, we have been following election results in both the United States and Puerto Rico. Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes veteran journalist Susanne Ramirez de Arellano to talk about what Tuesday's results mean both for San Juan and Washington, D.C.
Photo by Carlos Berríos Polanco for The Latino Newsletter.
October 31, 2024: Latino Identity in 2024
In this episode of The Latino Newsletter Podcast, host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Mando Rayo, an OG taco journalist and digital storyteller, to discuss the evolving identity of the Latino community, the importance of political representation, and cultural storytelling.
Subscribe to Tacos of Texas here.
October 24, 2024: Latino Impact Unseen
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Ana Valdez, president and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative, to discuss the significant economic impact of the U.S. Latino community, the challenges of media representation, and why Latinos still lack political power.
October 17, 2024: Gustavo Arellano’s Road Trip
This week, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano launched his new project, "Caminos del Southwest: A road trip through Latino America." Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Gustavo to talk about what turned into one very informative journey about Latino and Latina voters in 2024.
October 10, 2024: Democrats and Latino Men
Earlier this week, a new swing state poll from USA Today and Suffolk University showed Kamala Harris trailing Donald Trump among Latino men under 49 years old in Arizona and Nevada.
How did this happen?
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes veteran political commentator, columnist and Harvard Class of 1990 classmate Ruben Navarrette to discuss.
October 3, 2024: Latino Leaders Rising
In this episode of the Latino Newsletter podcast, host Julio Ricardo Varela discusses Latino representation in politics with U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Marco A. Davis, President/CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).
They explore CHCI's role in developing Latino leaders, the challenges of representation in Congress, the need for bipartisanship, and the misconceptions surrounding the Latino community.
September 26, 2024: The Politics of María
In this episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast, host Julio Ricardo Varela and special guest Tanzina Vega, contributing writer forThe Boston Globe and founder of La Mala Media, reflect on the lasting impact of Hurricane María, seven years after it devastated Puerto Rico.
With the 2024 U.S. election cycle heating up, Puerto Rico has become a Democratic presidential campaign talking point. Is this a good or a bad thing?
September 19, 2024: Latino Political Power
What is the state of Latino political power in 2024?
Host Julio Ricardo Varela chats with with Frankie Miranda, the first openly gay president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation. They explore the growth of Latino eligible voters, the importance of civic engagement and the misconceptions surrounding Latino political interests.
September 12, 2024: The Latino Media Consortium
"There has never been a better moment to help build a more equitable media landscape for the nation’s 64 million Latinos," the new Latino Media Consortium (LMC) announced during last week's launch.
Featured by Axios, the LMC was formed in 2024 with an initial group of Latino-owned digital media operators to make the case for greater investment in Latino-owned media. We here at The Latino Newsletter are proud founding members.
For this episode of The Latino Newsletter, host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes the LMC's co-founders, Lucy Flores and Amanda Zamora, to talk about why the time is now.
September 5, 2024: America’s Last Tax Haven
For this episode of The Latino Newsletter, we explore the push to abolish Puerto Rico's Act 22. For those who don't know, Act 22 is a tax incentive that allows American investors to avoid paying federal income taxes by living in Puerto Rico.
Welcome to the colony.
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes two guests who are diametrically opposed politically but agree that Act 22 should be abolished. Their arguments, however, are completely different. Federico de Jesús says that Act 22 has led to a displacement of Puerto Ricans and increased poverty on the island. Javier Ortiz supports statehood for Puerto Rico and believes that the tax structure of the island is a major impediment to achieving equality for Puerto Ricans.
August 29, 2024: Venezuela, One Month Later
It has been one month since Venezuela's presidential elections.
As NPR noted this week about the 1-month anniversary, "The incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, declared himself the winner, but his opposition points to their meticulous work counting votes and receipts from thousands of voting machines that they say prove otherwise. Maduro has been steadfast in his refusal to acknowledge this evidence, despite pressure and skepticism from other governments around the world."
Host Julio Ricardo Varela discusses the latest with Liz Rebecca Alarcón, Venezuelan-American media entrepreneur, political analyst and Founder/CEO of Pulso.
August 22, 2024: Latinos and Arizona
Arizona is an important 2024 state for so many reasons. So as convention season ends and the real presidential campaigning begins, where will Arizona go in November?
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes journalist Maritza Félix, Founder of Conecta Arizona, to check in on how Latinos will make a difference this election cycle and why.
August 15, 2024: A Latino Hollywood Check-In
How's Latino Hollywood doing these days?
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Cristina Escobar, Co-Founder and EIC of LatinaMedia.Co to the show. Cristina discusses the current state of representation, recent wins and the work being done to support and invest in diverse filmmakers... and critics too.
August 8, 2024: Latinos and “Rural America”
Host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Paolo Cremidis, executive director of The Outrun Coalition, to talk about the role of Latinos in rural communities. They discuss the misconceptions about rural voters and the challenges of organizing in traditionally red states. Paolo also shares his thoughts about the importance of embracing diversity and the need for the Democratic Party to refresh itself.
August 1, 2024: Latinos in the 2024 Cycle
In this debut episode of The Latino Newsletter, host Julio Ricardo Varela interviews Rafael Bernal, a staff writer for The Hill, about the state of Latinos in the 2024 election cycle. They discuss Vice President Kamala Harris, the relationship between Donald Trump and Latinos, the importance of Puerto Rico in the election, and U.S.-Mexico relations.